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Service time, logistics of resuming play among MLB's subjects of speculation

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In these early days of Major League Baseball's stoppage because of the threat from a global pandemic, answers are in short supply.

Speculation, though, is all around. On Thursday, MLB canceled spring training games and suspended the start of the regular season by 14 days in response to the coronavirus outbreak. But the expectation among agents and team executives is that the hiatus will last much longer. And the ramifications of a prolonged break figure to be significant.

"We're hearing all sorts of different scenarios," one team executive said. "We heard we could be out anywhere from May 15 to June 1."

MLB and the players' association agreed Friday that players can elect to return home, remain in their spring training cities, or return to their team's home city. Pitcher Zack Britton told reporters that Yankees players unanimously voted to remain in Tampa to work out. But other players are unsure, and some expressed concern to the MLBPA that they won't be paid if they elect to go home, league sources said.

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Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, tried to calm those fears in an email sent to agents that was obtained by theScore.

"Please note that, so long as you keep yourself in condition and ready to return to camp when the time comes, it will not affect your rights under your contract," Clark wrote. "The broader issues of salary payment, service credit, bonuses, and several issues are being discussed with MLB independent of where players choose to spend the immediate future. Players should feel free to make decisions based on their individual circumstances and with their personal health and safety, and that of their family, in front of mind."

Yet players still face plenty of financial uncertainty. There is a push for a full 162-game regular season in talks between MLB and the MLBPA, but a shortened regular season has become a realistic scenario. Players who have signed free-agent contracts or extensions likely have guaranteed language ensuring their entire contract will be paid in full. But a player who has less than three years of service time or is arbitration eligible (with three-to-six years of service time) would get a prorated amount of their salary based on games played, while minor leaguers are only paid during the season.

"All minor leaguers or any fringe big leaguer with families," one agent said, "could end up really getting f-----."

That's why some teams, including the Texas Rangers, are considering paying minor-league players during the suspension, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported. But some players have found part-time jobs, with Oakland Athletics minor-league pitcher Peter Bayer announcing he's started working for DoorDash to make up for lost wages.

The issue extends to housing during spring training and the regular season. Teams pay for some players' dorms or hotels, but most players choose to live outside the team's facilities. If a player rents in Arizona or Florida during the spring, along with the city they play in during the regular season, "their wells are probably close to empty," one agent suggested.

"It is the tip of the iceberg with logistics," one National League coach said.

For teams, the fallout is just as significant. Roster decisions will be delayed. Teams are scrambling to find answers to questions about service time, which is based on a league year that lasts 187 days. Players get credit for a full year of service time if they spend 172 days on a major-league roster.

White Sox minor leaguer Andrew Vaughn leaves the team's facility in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday. Ron Vesely / Getty Images

A shortened season could impact future arbitration cases, with one high-ranking American League executive suggesting that players' production numbers be prorated over 162 games. "This is where analytics can really be of service for these types of decisions," he said.

Before the suspension, some teams were aggressively working to extend their young players. The Pittsburgh Pirates talked to pitcher Joe Musgrove, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, shortstop Kevin Newman, and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes about extensions. The club exchanged multiple offers with Hayes, but those conversations have since been tabled, sources said.

Questions emerged Friday about how teams will resume preparation once the suspension is lifted. Players going home - and not working with coaches - would make it difficult to restart the season immediately, with one National League official apprehensive that pitchers' arms wouldn't be built up enough. It's why, as The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal noted, it's difficult for MLB to announce a firm start date without knowing the type of impact the virus will have in the coming weeks.

It's also why MLB quickly - and wisely - acted before coronavirus spread across the sport. A Diamondbacks minor leaguer was tested. Another National League minor leaguer was hospitalized earlier this week with a 104-degree Fahrenheit fever. But to date, no player has tested positive for the coronavirus. The challenge, one National League general manager said, is keeping it that way. But that is just one of many concerns facing a sport filled with uncertainty.

"There's not much time to think about baseball," the GM said. "I'm trying to make sure my family is safe. It's a shitshow here."

Robert Murray is a freelance baseball writer.

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